Is There Somewhere
by kawaiikonann
Summary: There had never been a boogeyman hiding under her bed or waiting to snatch her up the moment she misbehaved. It had always been an onyx eyed boy with the weight of a village on his shoulders and sorrow in his heart.
1. Chapter 1

_**Trigger warning: Slight suicide mention.**_

Things were never supposed to end like that. Itachi wasn't supposed to die, she had always thought that, but it happened. He had promised to her everything would be okay, and she had believed him, hanging off of every word that dripped out of his velvet lips. Sakura had never doubted him, even as the village she called home ostracized him, she had decided to believe him. Someone had once told her as a child that the Sharingan was an open book, because the moment you looked into a pair you were doomed to die, and the only comfort you could have was the open soul of the wielder through red pupils, and _oh _how true it had been. She had looked Itachi in the eyes and he had stared back at her with those haunting eyes of him, and while she might still have been a breathing mess of cells with a shaky heartbeat, inside; he had killed her.

It had all started innocently enough, a mission that was meant to be insignificant to an equally insignificant town on the outskirts of Kirigakure to collect a few medical scrolls for some research she had been helping her shishou conduct. _Insignificant too_, she thought to herself. There, in that small village, she had run into him, all skin and bones and hollow eyes, and the only thing her mind was able to process at that moment was that Itachi Uchiha looked like he was knocking at deaths door. She had told him that too, and he had surprised her by letting out a shaky laugh and informing her that death wouldn't be opening the door anytime soon, at least as long as he wasn't ready for it. Against the small voice in the back of her head reminding her that cichlids played dead in order to lure their prey, she convinced him into letting her examine him as she guided him to the quaint inn she would be staying at for the reminder of her mission.

Emphysema. She was surprised he was still alive, considering the fact that he had only been taking some strong herbal 'remedies', which had been working the same way placing a small bandage on a deep wound would, and he had shrugged his shoulder. '_Missing nin don't have many options when it comes to medical care'_, he had told her. Sakura had ignored the comment because it was true, instead relaying to him that she had healed the pneumonia the emphysema had caused, but that it would take her at least two weeks to reverse the damage the emphysema had done to his organs, and another two to produce a substantial amount of antibiotics. The medications wouldn't cure him, nothing could, but they would treat and relieve the symptoms drastically to a point of slowing the progression of the disease.

The first week had passed slowly, with her days consisting of collecting various items from the small town and the forest surrounding it, and she had been amazed at the fact that she had been able to procure all the necessary items, some which had already been in her storage scrolls. Evenings were always the same, quietly healing the Uchiha, her warm glowing hands pressed to his abdomen as her chakra glowed and seeped under his skin, his muscles, until it reached his organs. His skin was soft, softer even than it looked, and it had taken her by surprise when she had noticed that he had none to few scars on his torso, almost as if he wasn't even a shinobi. But he was an Uchiha, she reminded herself. Not many people could ever boast of having caused one any wounds during combat, if they even lived at that.

Itachi had been quiet, instantly closing his eyes when she began her healing sessions, and she had found the silence surprisingly comforting. He hadn't questioned why she was healing him, and she was thankful for it, for she wasn't even sure herself. She was betraying her village by healing the man that was being internally ravaged by disease, but that fact alone hadn't been enough to have her back down. Something had told her it was the right thing to do, something about the way he hadn't tried to instantly harm her when they crossed paths had helped that decision, because although he was obviously _sick_, killing her wouldn't have made a dent in his remaining stamina, she was sure of it. Itachi Uchiha was a conundrum, and suddenly she wasn't so sure all the stories she had heard about the boogeyman growing up were true, because how could the soft-spoken man laying beneath her glowing hands be a monster?

The second week passed a bit faster than the first, to her disappointment. Itachi had begun keeping his eyes open during their healing sessions, and she had found she very much liked the color of his eyes, a lighter shade of onyx than Sasuke's. They were warmer, more inviting, and she had often found herself lost in them when he wasn't looking her way, too distracted by the way the rain splattered heavily on the small lone window of the inn. Conversations were normal that week as well.

He had started slowly, asking her innocent enough questions, as to not alert her into thinking he was fishing for information on the village she loved, and she was surprised at how easily words flowed between them, similar to the way her chakra flowed from her hands and into every last cell of his body. Itachi had asked her about her life, things like '_what do you usually do when you're home?_' and '_do you have someone to go to when you feel trapped?_' and she couldn't help thinking that the boogeyman never asked things like that in the stories. She answered all his questions, even asked some of her own, taking care to not push his boundaries. She never asked about his family, never asked about Sasuke even. Her questions sounded more like, '_what do you do outside of Akatsuki?_' and '_Do you ever miss Konoha?_' She never questioned him on what he did or why he did it, and she remembered being able to tell by the deep look in his eyes that he was grateful for it.

Sakura remembered it all clearly, as if it had all happened not too long ago. She had almost been done healing everything that she could heal, even going as far as healing the damage that she could in his eyes, and she had felt disappointed knowing they only had two weeks until their paths would divert. They would each go their own way, him back to Akatsuki, and her back to Konoha, and she knew would their paths meet again, it would be as enemies. Would he spare her if they met in the battlefield? Or would he slit her throat without a second of hesitation, forgetting their time spent shut inside the small room of the small town? She didn't want to think about it then, and she had shoved the thoughts deep into the back of her mind. Whatever silent agreement they had come to was stronger than sides, stronger than right or wrong. Stronger than obligation or loyalty, and in that moment, she had been convinced he wouldn't hurt her, and she wouldn't be able to bring herself to hurt him even if it came as a direct order from her shishou. The last night of the second week, Sakura had dreamt of a murder of crows flocking above her as she laid in a field of flowers, the same one she had spent many of her childhood days in playing with Ino. The crows never hurt her, only stared at her with curious blood red eyes.

On the third week, Itachi had been well enough to leave, and she had felt relief when he had decided to stay and watch how she produced the medicine, so he could make it on his own, he had explained. She hadn't cared _why _he stayed, but she had nodded her head and motioned him over to the makeshift lab she had created on the small desk of the inn. The days were different than when Sakura had been done healing him, he was always the one to leave the room to bring them food, and she had been taken by surprise when he brought her back anmitsu on one of his outings; she hadn't expected him to remember her favorite dessert, and she recalled how she hadn't been able to hold back the smile that etched itself on her face. She couldn't remember the last time someone other than Ino or Naruto had ever done anything so thoughtful for her, and she had enjoyed the feeling it brought.

On the fifth day of the fourth week was when it had finally happened. A payment for everything she had done for him, he had mentioned, before making her swear not to utter a word to anyone, whether she believed the words that came out of his mouth or not. Looking back on it, she should've found it weird that he had felt the need to tell her. It should have been an obvious premonition, like when a friend gave away all their most cherished possessions and donated the rest, only to be found a few days later in a pool of their own blood, kunai slashes over their wrists, but at that moment she had been too focused with the need to be in on a secret that he had deemed her worthy enough to disclose to, so she had nodded her head fervently. He had paused, searching for something in her eyes, trustworthiness maybe, before parting his lips and letting the words flow out.

He had told her of his proud clan, and how they were too proud to brush off the suspicions of the elders and Danzo, and how Lord Third had done everything he could to placate them, to no avail. He told her of working as a double agent, of how he had lost his best friend to Danzo's paranoia and greed, and she had felt her heart clench for him when his eyes clouded at the mention of Shisui. He told her about the coup d'état he hadn't found a way to stop, and finally, he told her about how he had chosen the village and his brother over his clan. He told her of how once again, he was a double agent, feeding Jiraya information in disguise to bring back to the village, and by the end of his recollection, she had tears flowing down her face and anger in her heart at what the three elders who still held high positions in the village she loved had done to him.

Everything she had known had crumbled apart by the end of his story, and she recalled how she had felt her skin crawl at the thought of going back to the village that had gained its peace at the cost of the blood of its own people, because no matter what, the Uchiha clan had been a part of Konoha, and if they could do that to them, who could tell what they would do to others? She had suffered a panic attack that night, the medic in her had shut down, and Itachi had held her, stroking her hair until she was able to catch her breath again. He tried to convince her that it hadn't been Konoha's fault, that his clan and Danzo had played a huge role in the events of that night, and although his words had reached her, her heart ached, and the next thing she knew she had pressed her mouth to his to keep him from speaking any longer.

On the fifth night of the fourth week, they had made love, mouths clashing and tongues dancing to a rhythm their ears couldn't hear. When she closed her eyes, Sakura could still feel the warmth of his body over hers, and she could still hear the way he had repeated to her that she was too beautiful to cry over the past, and how she hadn't been able to find the words to tell him that her tears were for him. It hadn't been perfect, she was a virgin, and she could tell he was too, but it was everything she had needed at that moment. He had filled her perfectly, and she had met him with every thrust until the awkwardness and pain had faded and only pleasure had remained. That night had changed a lot of things, and it was then that she had decided that she didn't want to go back home. Somewhere between tangled sheets and heavy sighs, her heart had dug its way out and buried itself in Itachi, letting her know that he was now her home. There had never been a boogeyman hiding under her bed or waiting to snatch her up the moment she misbehaved. It had always been an onyx eyed boy with the weight of a village on his shoulders and sorrow in his heart.

On the sixth morning of the fourth week, she had decided that she was going to stay by Itachi's side until one of their hearts stopped beating. He had been quiet after her revelation, and her heart had leapt in her chest out of fear of his rejection, but he had nodded his head. That day, he brought back cabbage rolls, dango, and umeboshi, and although it was an odd combination, it strengthened her resolve. They had shared stories of their childhood, him of how much he had looked after Sasuke and how deep his love for the village he had grown up in was, and how the things he and Shisui had sacrificed were worth the peace. She spoke of how she had endured the heavy bullying from her classmates and how Ino had saved her, encouraging her to become strong.

On the sixth night of the fourth week, Sakura Haruno had scratched a line through her forehead protector and sent a message to her shishou through Katsuyu. '_I love you, shishou. And I love my mom, and my dad, and Naruto, and Ino, and Kakashi-sensei, and Sai, and Yamato-taicho. I love you all, but I can't go back._' It was messy and probably didn't make much sense but it was all she could think to write without breaking her promise to Itachi, so she had left it at that, hoping her mentor could read through the lines and know that Sakura knew something they all didn't. That same night, they had made love again, this time with more experience, and much more understanding than the night before.

On the last day of the fourth week, Sakura had woken up to red eyes staring back at her, like the dream she had had not too long ago, but it had only been one pair, and it was Itachi, not a murder of crows. They had quickly showered together and gathered up all their belongings before finally stepping out of the small inn room and out into the small town. She could vividly remember the way he had looked that day, lean but healthy, like a young sapling tree, reaching its growing branches out towards the sun. They had shared a meal at a small _okonomiyaki _stand, with the intention of being spotted, before heading out towards Akatsuki's Amegakure headquarters. On the last night of the fourth week, the had set up camp halfway to Ame, and Sakura had dreamt of Sasuke calling her a traitor before shoving his Chidori through her chest. Somehow, it hadn't scared her at all.

On the day after the time she had allotted to helping Itachi, her second day as a missing nin, they had arrived in Ame, and she had finally stood face to face with their leader, '_Pain'_. Itachi had asked her to let him do the talking, but when Pain had looked at her and asked her why she deserted Konoha, she hadn't been able to hold back the words that had slipped past her lips. _'I can no longer serve a village that paved its peace through the pain of others.' _A lie. Sakura understood Itachi's sacrifice, and it would be an insult to hold any grudge towards the village, but she had known her answer was to Pain's satisfaction when he had handed her a black cloak with red clouds and a rose colored ring with the symbol for 'koi' on it. She ran a hand over the ring that was still sitting on her finger, and she couldn't help but think of how fitting it had been for her, after all, koi had a tendency to swim upstream and resist the flow of water, the same way she had ran towards the monster of the stories, not away from him.

The weeks had gone by fast after that, and she had found herself enjoying the freedom of being a missing nin. While Pain had let her join, he never allowed her in on their meetings, and had barely allowed her to go out on missions with Itachi and his partner Kisame, but that hadn't bothered her. Sakura knew of the things they were capable of and she wanted nothing to do with it. Her only reason of joining had been to be by Itachi's side, and in a way, she knew they all understood. She was sixteen, and she had felt invincible with her inhuman strength and her red eyed lover, and while she knew there were a lot of things being hidden from her, particularly news about her village, she had known it was all for the better purpose of Itachi's sacrifice. The less she knew the better.

It had all been good until it wasn't. Konoha hadn't taken the news of her desertion well, her shishou had sent a squad to pursue Itachi, and Sakura could see the logic of that decision now. The simplest path to Sakura and Sasuke was to find Itachi, for many people had seen her at his side during their travels with Kisame, even going as far as to dub her '_Sakura of the crow'_, and Sasuke had convinced himself that she was under one of his genjutsu, furthering his rage towards Itachi. That was when they had their first fight. Itachi had been worried about Sasuke getting to him and harming her in the process, and he had wanted her to start staying back at one of the hideouts, to which she had protested that she could hold her ground. In the end he had won, promising her that he would tell Sasuke the truth, something that had eased her fear a bit.

Sakura had barely been awake when Itachi had told her he had a mission near the border of Konoha, she had sullenly nodded her head and dragged him down to her, and they had shared their last act of intimacy as the light of dawn had seeped in through the window of their room. Between heavy sighs and quiet moans, she begged him to come back to her, and he had promised he would, kissing away the tears that slipped past her cheeks. Believing him had been easy then, and she would probably fall for his words again if she had the chance to go back in time.

Itachi had lied to her. Tobi, who she now knew had been Obito in disguise as Madara, had informed her of Itachi's plan to die by Sasuke's hand, the weight of his words heavy on her shoulders as she ran out of the hideout as fast as her legs could take her, summoning Katsuyu for the first time since her departure from Konoha. _'Please Katsuyu, guide me to Itachi.' _The slug had cooperated, guiding Sakura to the right spot, saving her time she hadn't had to search through the outskirts of Konoha for the exact location, and it was revealed that they were located at an old abandoned Uchiha hideout. Her heart had pounded in her chest the moment she had spotted Tobi as she neared the black flames of Itachi's _Amaterasu_, and when he lunged at her she had been ready to attack, to no avail. The next thing she knew, she had been thrown at Naruto's feet, and the words that quickly followed when Zetsu appeared had hit her harder than anything ever had.

'_It's over. Sasuke has won. Itachi Uchiha is dead.' _The rest of the events had been a blur, and all she could remember from that day was dry heaving until she had regurgitated all the contents of her stomach. She had felt dizzy and disoriented, and when Naruto had tried to steady her to her feet, she had recoiled. The hurt in his eyes hadn't affected her, she had been too consumed in her grief to care. Itachi had lied to her, he had never planned to tell Sasuke the truth. '_Sakura of the Crow' _was no more. When Tobi claimed he had expected it she lunged, killing intent radiating from every pore in her body, but as quickly as he had flashed a glimpse of his Sharingan, he had disappeared, leaving her to hit the empty space he had been occupying.

In the end, they had accomplished to take her in, and she had complied with the condition that they let her see his body one last time, to which they obliged. When they neared the black flames of Itachi's _Amaterasu_, she ignored Kakashi's signal to halt and ran straight into the flames. His flames could never hurt her, and they had all stared in shock at the fact that she had been unharmed, the understanding in Kakashi's eyes a reminder of everything she had lost that day. She was no longer as strong as she had felt with the Sharingan wielder by her side, for she had no one to stand by her anymore.

Instead of waiting for Yamato to clear the rest of the squad a path, she had ran to the area where the fight had ended, and instead of Sasuke or Itachi's body there stood a single crow, gazing at her with red eyes, cocking its head in a questioningly manner, before flying down from the slab of concrete it had been perched on and settling near her feet. The crow had chirped and regurgitated a single scarlet scroll before taking off. When she opened it, she was met with a row of signatures, the last one still as bright as if it had been scribbled yesterday. '_Itachi Uchiha'._

The day's after Itachi's death had gone by slow. Sakura had been interrogated, but her inner had shielded Itachi's secret, only showing that she had left the village on her own and using the façade of bringing Sasuke back as her excuse. She knew Tsunade and Kakashi hadn't believed her, and she had been forced under house arrest, but not before her shishou had performed a through checkup on her, and she instantly knew the implications of her mentor's lips thinning into a serious line. Sakura Haruno had returned to the village carrying the child of one of its most notorious traitors. The revelation had left her shocked, _'How could I have missed that?'_, she had thought to herself, until her shishou had explained how the child's flow of chakra had disrupted hers, and the realization that she hadn't been able to recall how long ago it had been since she had even used her chakra hit her like a brick. In that moment all she could do was nod as she tried to stop her tears from falling, but when Tsunade had placed a soft hand on her shoulder and expressed the worry that had been eating at her when she hadn't returned from her mission, she could no longer hold them back.

Pain's assault had happened not long after her return to the village. Having been a few days short of being one month pregnant, she had been forced to evacuate into the Hokage mountain, and the looks from the villagers had almost caused her to have a second panic attack, but Kurenai had reached her before her feelings consumed her. Word had spread of her involvement with the Uchiha, and although no one had been notified of her condition, they all knew the implications of being evacuated. Only civilians, genin, and pregnant kunoichi were in the mountains.

It was from Kurenai that she had learned of what had happened while she was gone, of how Asuma had fallen at the hands of two Akatsuki members, and her voice had been lacking any grudge towards her for her involvement in the organization. All Sakura had been able to do was apologize through broken sobs, while she tried to remind herself that peace could only be achieved through sacrifices. Kurenai had understood that, for she had told her she had nothing to apologize for, _'You can't apologize for something you had no control over, it's like apologizing for the weather.' _When Naruto had put an end to Pain's assault, she had walked out of the Hokage mountain with a different view of her predicament. Her child would forever be a reminder of Itachi's love for her and the sacrifices he had made for the village.

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This one was meant to be a oneshot, but depending on the feedback, it might change to a multichapter story. I feel like I've read all the good ItaSaku stories on FF, and I wanted something angsty so I decided to write it! Hope you guys enjoy it, let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

"Why did you leave me?" The question hung heavy in the air, and Itachi seemed to ponder on it, eyes cast upwards to the starry sky above them. There was a small distance between them, far enough to be just an inch out of her grasp if she outstretched her arm towards him, but he felt close enough, closer than he'd been in months. She knew why she could see him. She was dead, or at least on the brink of death, and the thought didn't seem to make any sort of impact on her. For a second, any fragment of her life was pushed to the backburner, his presence too alluring to let her thoughts flicker to anything else.

"That was never my intention, but I've never really been good at doing things the right way. I was selfish for taking you for myself." His voice was calm, devoid of the usual edge to it that he had never truly been able to shake off, even in most comfortable state, and she quickly summed it up to the fact that he'd been dead for a few months now. There was nothing more for him to stress about. His answer didn't satisfy her, and she found herself feeling more and more upset, until tears were pouring down her cheeks, a silent plea for comfort. "You shouldn't be here, Sakura."

"I know," she replied. He was right, she knew he was. Their child, their son needed her, but she wasn't quite ready to go back. She needed to know a few more things before she could let him go, if that was even possible. She had spent the full of her pregnancy moping his loss, and she was exhausted. She could no longer continue on like that, not with another life to look after. "It's a boy, Itachi. I've birthed you a son."

The smile that adorned his usually stoic features was contagious, and before she knew it, she was smiling through her own tears, overjoyed at his reaction to the news. Itachi closed the distance between them that she had been too afraid to close, and when his arms wrapped around her, she could feel his warmth envelop her whole being. She didn't want to leave, she didn't want the moment to end, but she couldn't leave Karasu to suffer the same lonely upbringing Naruto had.

"What did you name him?" The curiosity gleamed in his dark eyes, and a soft smile splayed itself onto her lips. She brought her hands up to cup his face, amazed at how real everything was in that moment before she answered his question.

"Karasu. Karasu Uchiha." Many had warned her against giving him the Uchiha surname, but it had fallen on deaf ears. While the name carried tragedy and danger, it also carried pride, and she wanted their son to learn about everything that made his clan something to be proud to be a part of. The look in Itachi's eyes let her know he was grateful for it, and it made the small bit of worry that had ebbed itself into her heart at the warnings of all her close friends fade away.

"You need to take care of him. Teach him to love his village as much as I did, as much as you do. Teach him to be a skilled shinobi, Sasuke will help." Before she could protest at the last words, she could feel chakra seeping through her, slowly at first, and then all at once, so familiar. Her shishou. "Don't hate him for something that was out of his control, Sakura."

She nodded her head, too worried about the little bit of time she still had left with him to argue with him, and like always, as if he could read her mind, he pulled her in and kissed her. It had been months since she had felt his lips against hers, and she could feel all of the emotion he put towards it. He knew that was it, the last kiss until her death, and the realization made her eyes water up, and before she could try and blink them away, they were streaming down her face.

"Don't cry for this isn't goodbye, Sakura. It's only until we meet again." She nodded her head, angrily wiping away at the tears that she couldn't seem to slow down, and when she looked up, the last thing she saw was his two outstretched fingers poking her forehead.

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...

Air entered her lungs quickly and suddenly. It _hurt_. Breathing _hurt_. She could hear the frantic movements and words around her, she could smell the metallic scent of blood, lots of it, hers. Her eyelids felt heavy, and no matter how hard she tried to open her eyes, the task was too difficult for her to accomplish. Half of her wanted to just succumb to her blood loss, but the other half was screaming at her to wake up, to not give up, until she realized the other half wasn't her, but Ino, Tsunade, and Shizune.

"Sakura, _I swear to god_, if you die, I'll kill myself here and now just to kill you in the afterlife!" Ino's threat rang in her ears, and before she knew it, a laugh had managed to slip past her cracked lips.

Laughing _hurt_. Her throat was so dry, but before the action could cause her to go into a coughing fit, a cup was placed on her lips and she gratefully took a slow sip. When she finally opened her eyes, the look of relief on the three kunoichi's faces made her feel guilty for putting them through the fear of almost losing her. Her throat still felt sore and dry, but she forced herself to speak.

"K-Karasu?" Ino perked up at the mention of the child's name, and the gleam in her eye let her know that he was safe and sound before her words did.

"Oh, Sakura, he's gorgeous!" Her blue eyes began to water, until she was sobbing at the side of her bed. "I was so worried about you, forehead." It was too soon for words, so she settled for slowly placing a weak shaky hand over the blonde's hand and squeezing with as much pressure as she could.

"Shizune." The medic quickly left the room, but was back as fast as she had left, but with Naruto in tow. Her usually energetic teammate looked drained, but he quickly perked the minute his eyes landed on her, and as he walked towards her bed, she quickly noticed the small bundle in his arms. When Naruto sat in the chair next to her bed, and lifted the bundle towards her, she felt her energy and strength return to her in a quick flash.

Ino hadn't lied. He was gorgeous. He was sound asleep, but she didn't have to see his eyes to know what color they were. Karasu was the spitting image of his father, with his headful of black hair and his fair complexion. As she settled him into her arms, her emotions overtook her, and the tears sprang out faster than she could control him. The amount of love she felt for the child she had conceived with Itachi was unmeasurable, and for a split second she didn't know how exactly to process it all.

"I was worried when he came out without a wail, but it seems he's just a calm child. Just like his father." Her shishous words broke her out of the spell her child had put her under, and at the mention of Itachi, she felt her heart clench. "He hasn't cried not once."

"Kurenai brought over some milk for him so he's been fed, he fell asleep on Naruto." Shizune added.

"Okay, that's enough visiting for today, Sakura has been through a lot, let her take the day off with Karasu. You can all come visit tomorrow." They all solemnly said their goodbyes, until it was just her, Tsunade and Karasu left in the room. "Sasuke came back."

"I figured just as much." Tsunade took a seat where Naruto had sat before and a sigh escaped her lips. While the transformation technique hid her age perfectly, Sakura could see the years she carried on her shoulders peak out through the look in her eyes. The woman had lived through a lot, and she still managed to carry on, something Sakura hoped to be able to accomplish herself.

"He wants to see you two. He's been waiting outside the hospital for two days. I wanted to make sure you were okay with it before letting him in." Karasu gurgled in her arms, his dark charcoal eyes completely awake.

"Let him in." Tsunade nodded her head before slipping out the door. It had been a few months since the war. Since Kakashi had pardoned Sasuke. Sakura had steered clear of the Uchiha, and he had done the same, respecting her wishes to avoid him, something made easier by the fact that he was seldom ever in the village. She didn't hate him. She couldn't hate him. Itachi was right, he had no control over what had transpired. He had just been a pawn in things, it hadn't been his fault, but she couldn't control the resentment she still felt. Sasuke had taken Itachi from her. From Karasu. Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "Come in."

Sasuke walked in, softly closing the door behind him. He looked rough around the edges, but she could still see the boyish wonder in his eyes when they focused on the bundle in her arms. He made no move to get closer, opting instead to stand warily close to the door in case she changed her mind, and she internally chuckled. Here he was, one of the strongest shinobi in the world, nervous to be in the same room as her.

"I saw him, you know." His eyes left Karasu and met her own, realization dawning on them. "I saw Itachi. Come, sit."

She motioned towards the chair by her bed and he slowly made his way towards her until he reached it. When he took a seat, she handed him Karasu, and he carefully took him, making sure to support his head with an awkward elbow. The wonder she had caught a glimpse of in his eyes quickly grew into adoration, and she imagined how Itachi would have reacted had he been there in his shoes. How things would've played out had Sasuke not killed him. The resentment began to burn at her, but she quickly brushed the bitter feeling away, thinking of what Itachi wanted instead.

"This is your nephew. Karasu Uchiha. You will help me train him, teach him wrong from right, teach him about his village and his clan." The words came out a little shaky, but it was him who shed tears. Sasuke had never been one to show any emotion other than anger and hate, but at that moment, the tears that slipped past the bright smile on her face made her smile in return. This was Sasuke. The genuine Sasuke that had been hidden from everyone the moment his clan was no longer. "Teach him about his father."

"He looks exactly like Itachi," he murmured as he wiped the tears away with his free arm. "I'm sorry, Sakura." She quickly shook her head, blinking back tears that were beginning to sting at her eyes. She was tired of crying.

"Don't. Itachi believed in you. Still does. So, I will too." She was surprised when she found she actually believed the words that she had spoken, and it brought comfort to her to know she was making progress. Karasu needed Sasuke in his life, to teach him everything she would not know how to teach him about Uchiha ninjutsu and clan matters. Sasuke had not been the one to revive the clan, but he would be the one to help the first male born after the massacre. He'd be there for his nephew, her son, the way that Itachi had been there for him until he could no longer do it in an obvious manner, for no matter what horrible things Itachi had done, he had always done them with Sasuke in mind.

* * *

...

Four years had passed slowly after Karasu's birth, and although most of Konoha still saw her as a traitor, she no longer cared. They'd never know the sacrifice Itachi had made for them, and she had made her peace with it. She walked with her head held high anywhere she went, and she knew it just made the whispers worst, she could hear them when they thought she was out of earshot. Rumors about how she was probably hooking up with her former sensei or with Sasuke, both which she had found hilarious had reached her ears recently, all brought on by her frequent visits to the Hokage tower or to Sasuke's home when he was in the village.

She had grown a steadier friendship with her former sensei. With most of the rookie nine being in relationships, hard at work, or out on missions, she found his company to be something they both enjoyed. She knew Kakashi understood the loneliness, and he never turned her away, even when he himself heard the gossip.

As for Sasuke, he spent every minute he wasn't out of the village making sure everything was looking fine with Karasu, making sure he reached every milestone, something he had been doing faster than the average infant, but with two geniuses as parents, it had only been expected. Karasu was smart, brave, and a fast learner. He was truly the embodiment of his father.

"Mama?" Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the soft tone of his voice, and she looked down from their kitchen island to see Karasu holding a small crow fledging in cupped palms. "He's hurt mama."

Sakura stood from the stool she had been sitting on and crouched down to his height, slowly taking the small scared bird into her own hands. She quickly noticed the odd way his small wing sat, and when she looked at Karasu, the small frown on his face made her heart melt. "Would you like to try to heal him?"

Karasu thought on it for a second, his features quickly contorting into a look of contemplation she had seen on Itachi on many occasions. He wore his hair in the same manner as his father, and had it not been for the missing tear throughs on his face, she'd swear Itachi had been reincarnated. When he finally nodded his head eagerly, she outstretched her palms towards him, making sure the fledging's wing was accessible to his small hands.

He covered the birds wing with his small hands, and when his hands began to glow in the familiar shade of green that medical ninjutsu was, she felt pride at how fast he had learned the technique. When he was done, she ruffled his hair, pressing a kiss to his small forehead. "Good job, Kara. Do you think you can place him back in his nest? I'm sure his mama is worried."

"May I go play with Mirai after? She said she'd teach me the genjutsu she learned from her mama." She nodded her head and Karasu quickly ran out, eager to learn a new jutsu. He took every and any opportunity to learn new things, eager to impress Sasuke and Kakashi, and while it worried her on occasions, she knew it was for his own good. While he had yet to awaken his Sharingan, she knew the moment he did he'd be at risk of getting abducted for his kekkei genkai.

"Did you see it?" Sasuke took a seat next to her and she quickly set her glowing palms on his chest, looking for any injuries she couldn't see. Her eyes met his the moment she noticed his two broken ribs, but she decided not to scold him. If he had gone to Kakashi before coming to her to be healed, she knew it was something important.

"When I was his age I wasn't half as good as he is. At anything." She chuckled softly. She could recall the many stories she had heart about Sasuke from Itachi, and she knew that he was right. Sasuke had ran after Itachi's heels the same way she had once ran after his in their days as genin. The moment she finished healing him, the aura in the room shifted, and she braced herself for whatever the Uchiha was about to come out with.

"I have reason to believe Karasu and I might not be the last two Uchiha."

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**...**

**The story kind of played itself out in my mind before I went to bed last night, so I woke up super early to write it out. I knew I wanted to continue _Is There Somewhere_, I just wasn't sure how, but I think I know where I'm going to go with it. Tell me what you think. Should I have left it alone as a one-shot? Should I continue? Hope you guys enjoy it!**


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